


Darkness Is Nicer Than It Seems (Introduction)

by onebizarrekai



Category: Undertale (Fandom), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Characters are canonically portrayed as human, DINTIS - AU, Dreamtale - AU, Gen, Short Story, basically this is an au that I created forever ago and I rewrote its introduction, dark and jet aren't actually related, dark timeline, implied toxicity, jet is just a prick, now it actually has solid characterizations and has some semblance of quality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:46:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onebizarrekai/pseuds/onebizarrekai
Summary: He should have cared; he should have cared about something. It was his job: his destiny. A destiny of empathy, selflessness and heroism–but here he was, an empty feeling distorting his mind, a feeling that had always been there, that he had grown accustomed to ignoring. Ignoring it always worked, but it had grown in prominence. A cry for solace was ringing in his eardrums, and the man caved. Surely it would subside if he came to terms with it, determined a solution and put that solution in motion.It wasn’t until he sat down that he realized just how much there was, and the feeling acted as a fountain, not a one-way road. It continued to circle back through him, no calm in a storm of confusion and swelling apathy. No analysis of circumstance was leading to anything he had been ingrained–by himself or others–to consider positive.Dream was fucking sick of being this guardian that his origination had labeled him.
Relationships: Dream & Nightmare
Comments: 2
Kudos: 84





	Darkness Is Nicer Than It Seems (Introduction)

**Author's Note:**

> So like this is an alternative universe and normally these guys are referred to by their multiverse interactive nicknames–which are Dark and Jet–but for the sake of this particular introduction, the narration refers to them as Dream and Nightmare.
> 
> I thought I'd just put the rewritten introduction here for reference's sake, since I'll likely end up sharing other DINTIS fics. Future fics will probably call them Dark and Jet.

An endless, empty world he sat in, one tear after another hitting the clouded, invisible floor. The sound echoed on invisible walls, filling his ears and prompting more. He did not recall where he was, nor how he got there. He had run somewhere, somewhere far, anywhere far, to escape his melancholy, to escape reality, only to strengthen his despair further.

He should have cared; he should have cared about _something_. It was his job: his destiny. A destiny of empathy, selflessness and heroism–but here he was, an empty feeling distorting his mind, a feeling that had always been there, that he had grown accustomed to ignoring. Ignoring it always worked, but it had grown in prominence. A cry for solace was ringing in his eardrums, and the man caved. Surely it would subside if he came to terms with it, determined a solution and put that solution in motion.

It wasn’t until he sat down that he realized just how much there was, and the feeling acted as a fountain, not a one-way road. It continued to circle back through him, no calm in a storm of confusion and swelling apathy. No analysis of circumstance was leading to anything he had been ingrained–by himself or others–to consider positive.

Dream was fucking sick of being this _guardian_ that his origination had labeled him.

He clenched one of his fists against the ground that he had so hopelessly fallen to, the emptiness he experienced showing no signs of conclusion. He didn’t care anymore. He was supposed to care, and he felt nothing.

Why did he even bother trying anymore?

“Well…”

Dream jolted in terror, back straightening up immediately. He raised a hand to wipe the tears streaming down his face, hesitant to turn as a familiar voice struck his ears.

“… what a surprise this is.”

He dared look over his shoulder, slowly but surely. His emptiness was pervaded with fear. A figure–a very familiar figure–entered his vision. A shadow of someone he used to know and care about deeply. His greatest friend, who had fallen to become his greatest foe.

“Who would have guessed that this feeling would lead me straight to my dear brother?” Nightmare asked, holding his arms out on both sides of him.

Dream remained still, watching him with further caution than piqued concern. Nightmare cocked his head slightly, almost appearing bored with Dream’s frozen position. There was a pause–a long pause–as the air settled. Dream’s fear steadily settled back into the empty, despairing feeling from earlier as Nightmare did not move. Not even the one who had wounded him time and time again was pronouncing motivation in him anymore.

Growing dissatisfied with this bathetic outcome, Nightmare took a step forward. “You know, I haven’t sensed despondency like this for a _very_ long time. I’m impressed that it’s from you of all people,” he said. As he grew closer, Dream looked down. “What’s the matter? Where’s that _defiant_ look you always like to give me, Dream?”

Dream didn’t open his mouth, or even make a single sound. He found no will to. He continued staring at the ground, refusing to make eye contact.

“Come on…” Nightmare continued, slowly descending to a knee. “Can’t you tell me, Dream?”

Dream made a mistake.

He looked up, and for a brief moment, the face in front of him became a face that he hadn’t seen for a very long time. A face that incurred far too many memories, and a face that he had missed horribly.

“Won’t you tell your brother?” Nightmare asked.

Dream’s lip trembled slightly. He bit it back, furrowing his brow before slowly shaking his head. “… I can’t do this anymore,” he choked out. “God, I can’t do it anymore.”

Nightmare watched him intently, eyes ingenuously wide with curiosity.

“There’s too much pain. Too much failure. It’s all… futile,” Dream sputtered. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth for a few seconds, fighting the stinging in his eyes and his voice getting caught in his throat as he forced his gaze back to the ground. “Why do I bother trying to change something that will… never change? It’s a cycle. It just goes on, and on, and on, and…” He brought a hand to his head, clutching it firmly. “You were right. You were _right_.”

Nightmare was quiet. He took the time to inhale and exhale slowly, continuing to watch the one in front of him.

“… So you finally get it?” he asked. “You _finally_ get it?”

Dream froze up in shock as he felt arms suddenly encompass him. Nightmare was hugging him, holding him in a way that Dream thought he would never experience again.

“You’ve endured so much,” Nightmare said, tightening his arms around Dream even more. “This must be so hard.”

Dream’s hands shook. He slowly raised them, placing them on the backs of Nightmare’s shoulders. He let out a few unstable breaths before finally breaking down, the tears returning and relentlessly streaming down his face. He clung to Nightmare, his hands digging into the other’s back as he lowered his head into the crook of Nightmare’s neck and continued sobbing, barely able to catch breaths between each.

Nightmare placed a hand on the back of his head. “There, there,” he said. “Everything is okay.”

Dream let out a muffled ‘no’ against Nightmare’s jacket, shaking his head. Nightmare started to sway their hug slightly, holding Dream close.

“I’m so tired…” Dream choked out, the words barely intelligible between his sobs. “I’m so tired, Nightmare. I’m tired of being a guardian.”

Nightmare shifted his eyes to Dream’s head. He watched the other carefully for a moment, slowing all of his movements. His fingers subtly brushed through Dream’s black hair, a finger gradually treading to the top of Dream’s neck. Nightmare inhaled quietly for a moment.

“Then don’t,” Nightmare just mumbled loudly enough to be heard.

Dream stopped, missing a breath. Everything went still.

Nightmare moved back cautiously, maintaining a gentle hold on Dream’s arms. He looked at the other in the eyes, a sorrowful look persisting in his gaze. A dejected half-smile flashed on his face for only a moment before he shook his head. “No one is making you do this, Dream,” he said. “You should take control of your own life if you want to.”

Dream couldn’t tear his eyes away. He remained silent, trapped in the bright turquoise eyes of the other.

… Were they always that color?

Nightmare tilted his head just a bit, his expression softening. “… What _do_ you want?” he asked.

Dream opened his mouth, not sure what to say. He closed it again, his hurricane of thoughts attempting to organize itself. The second time he tried to open his mouth, his voice cracked and nothing else came out.

“You really don’t know…?” Nightmare inquired again. He emitted a short, amused chuckle. “Have you… spent _any_ time thinking about what you want? Not… someone else?”

Dream finally diverted his gaze. He looked down at his chest, and other at each arm, where Nightmare’s hands were tenderly but firmly placed. He had missed the touch so much. His spiraling thoughts slowed, something dark peeking from under the surface. Dream dismissed any motivations, any consideration, and any doubts in that very moment. His eyes rose again, locking with the other’s.

“I think… I want to be with you again.”

Nightmare blinked. His glowing eyes went wide, a grin promptly appearing on his face as a few disbelieving laughs escaped. He brought a hand to his face, clouding his sinister chuckles under mild joviality.

“You dumbass,” he said jokingly, moving his hand to show a pleasantly warm smile as he ruffled Dream’s hair. The other man recoiled down slightly.

“Hey, stop it!” Dream whined. “You know I don’t like it when…”  
  
Dream cut himself off. He looked back up at Nightmare, his mouth hanging open slightly.

“… Oh my god,” he mumbled. He choked on his breath, his eyes beginning to sting again. He groaned as tears started to run down his cheeks again. “Nightmare, I missed you. I fucking missed you.”

Dream flung himself against Nightmare, hugging him tightly as he began to sob into the other’s coat again. Nightmare let out a sigh, pursing his lips as he returned his arms to Dream’s back.

“… Dream, I missed you too, you know,” Nightmare told him. He let out a laugh. “Man, what am I going to do with you?”

“Don’t leave me alone anymore!” Dream declared, choking on sobs as he dug his head against Nightmare’s shirt.

Nightmare gently hushed him, returning a hand to the back of Dream’s head. “Everything is okay now…” he said.

Dream’s smothered sobs continued to break the silence of the abyssal, grey world. They remained like that indeterminately, Dream fearing to lose the man he had finally landed in the arms of again, holding Nightmare with a bout of desperation.

“Dream…” Nightmare began, brushing a hand through Dream’s hair and curling it around his fingertips. “There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Dream lifted his head slightly in curiosity, looking up at him. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, his cheeks still wet. He lifted an arm, promptly rubbing the tears off on his sleeve and trying to clear his vision.

“There’s no pain where I am, you know.”

Dream felt a chill run down his spine. His arms were covered in goosebumps in a moment’s notice, his eyes growing slightly wide. In spite of the rush, Nightmare felt warm. He didn’t want to move, or dare to move. The tips of Nightmare’s fingers danced over the back of Dream’s head in an entrancing pattern, and Dream didn’t want to lose the sensation.

“I’ve missed you so much more than you can possibly think,” Nightmare continued, his glowing gaze locked onto Dream’s. His eyes seemed to glow brighter, Dream finding himself still captured in their beautiful light. “If you come with me… we can be together, and never hurt again.”

Dream opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Nightmare’s fingertips grew cold, holding the sides of Dream’s head with steadily increasing security. One hand released, Nightmare brushing the back of his hand down Dream’s cheek. The cold became hypnotic.

“Just forget everything and come with me, Dream… darkness is nicer than it seems.”

Dream finally managed to get a noise to come out of his dysfunctional voice. “N…Nightmare,” he choked. “I… I don’t think…”

“Isn't this what you want? It is, isn’t it?” Nightmare asked softly, stroking Dream’s cheek with his thumb. “You can tell every one of your obligations to go to hell, because I’m _here_.” He smiled gently. “I’m not going to hurt you. I will not reject you. I care for you, Dream.”

Quivering, Dream tore his eyes away from Nightmare’s, looking down, but Nightmare lifted his chin back up.

“Please…” Nightmare mumbled. “I still love you. Won’t you do it for me, at least? Won’t you take this chance with me?”

Dream felt noise ringing in his ears. He felt blinded, desperate, unsure of what to do. What did he want? What did he _really_ want? He’d always been told what he was supposed to want, and at last, he could make a choice for himself. The person he cared about the most was standing before him, the person he had fought with for so long, finally showing the part of him that Dream was terrified no longer existed.

He knew what he wanted, but he had been petrified to admit it.

“… Okay,” Dream mumbled, barely audible. He nodded to ensure clarification for his weak words. “I will.”

Nightmare blinked, doing a double take, before a thrilled grin spread on his face. He suddenly hugged Dream tightly, Dream only having a moment to be surprised before slowly returning it.

Nightmare laughed under his breath before he spoke again. “… I knew you would make the right choice,” he said, his lips almost tracing Dream’s ear.


End file.
